Plans for Proposed Recreation Campus Progressing

Jul 5, 2016

I am working with community partners and levels of government to develop a recreational campus in South Winnipeg, located off Kenaston Boulevard and Bison Road South. Winnipeg is experiencing rapid growth and there is tremendous pressure on existing and old recreational facilities to keep up with this growth.

In 2013, the City commissioned a study to work with community stakeholders to determine if there was an interest in developing a ‘super centre or recreation complex’ and if so, where it would be located. I encourage you to read the results of the study, the BRAID REPORT – South Winnipeg Recreation Initiative and follow my website to keep updated on this matter.

The Sou’Wester – Canstar Community News

Architectural drawings for a new recreation centre in southwest Winnipeg are expected to be ready by this fall.

Craig Sheldon, president of the South Winnipeg Community Centre and chair of the South Winnipeg Action Team (SWAT), told The Sou’wester plans for the proposed facility are coming along.

“(The City) is trying to get all the stakeholders to the table, and the community centre would be one of those, and to get all the stakeholders to agree on what the needs are of the community. What kids need, what seniors need, what everyone else needs in a recreation facility,” Sheldon said.

Sheldon said a city consultant hired to work on the project is in conversation with SWAT (a collection of stakeholders involved in the rec centre project), the Pembina Trails School Division, the YM-YWCA and many others to get everyone aligned and to agree on what the project should entail.

“That’s where we’re at right now, trying to get a complete scope of what that campus should include,” Sheldon said.

The southwest quadrant of the city, including the developing neighbourhoods of Bridgwater and South Pointe, is expected to be home to about 40,000 people by the end of 2020. The current population of the area is approximately 30,000 with no official recreation centres under development.

Neighbouring centres at St. Norbert, Richmond West and Waverley Heights are currently accommodating the increased participants in their programming.

In 2013, the city a requested a study to determine whether there was interest in developing a super centre or recreation complex among local stakeholders. In 2015, the city committed $350,000 to begin the planning for the development, locating a site, negotiating land purchases, design and more.

From the perspective of the South Winnipeg Community Centre, the next steps in the development of the project is to push the recreational needs of the community forward and to make sure those requirements are considered in the development of plans by the city, Sheldon said.

The city consultant will also be writing a charter that will include all the needs and expectations identified by various stakeholder groups.

The proposed project, likely to be in the vicinity of Kenaston Boulevard and Bison Road South, could include a number of amenities such as a YM-YWCA, library, senior’s centre, hockey arena, courts, and athletic fields.

After the charter is completed, architects can get to work on conceptual designs and once those are prepared the group can start talking dollars. Funding for the project is still to be determined.

A best case scenario would see shovels in the ground in at least a year’s time, Sheldon said.

“We’d encourage anybody to contact the South Winnipeg Community Centre with any recreational needs and if there are any groups that feel that they’re not yet represented I’d like to hear from those to include them in the SWAT group,” Sheldon said.

“We’re trying to represent more people so we have a lot stronger voice with the city in trying to develop this project.”